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Gateway to the metabolic syndrome

Nature Medicine volume 11, pages 602–603 (2005)Cite this article

A high-fat diet can lead to insulin resistance and the development of the metabolic syndrome, a condition associated with diabetes, heart disease and other ailments. A G-protein-coupled receptor on the surface of insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas senses lipids and may promote the metabolic syndrome under high-fat conditions.

Overnutrition and inactivity underlie the current epidemic of obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia and fatty liver, a cluster of diseases collectively known as the metabolic syndrome1. Accumulating evidence suggests that insulin resistance induced by an excess of fat may be the common molecular link between these clinical manifestations.

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Figure 1: GPR40 mediates acute and chronic effects of fatty acids on insulin secretion.

Katie Ris

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 2QR, UK

    Gema Medina-Gomez & Antonio Vidal-Puig

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  1. Gema Medina-Gomez
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  2. Antonio Vidal-Puig
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Medina-Gomez, G., Vidal-Puig, A. Gateway to the metabolic syndrome. Nat Med 11, 602–603 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0605-602

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